Closing Time
by Moonlit Dreaming
Summary: Ann's birthday turns out to be a huge disappointment for her, but the most unlikely person is on hand to salvage things. Oneshot, Kai x Ann.


**Disclaimer-** I do not own Harvest Moon. 

**Author's note-** This was written in response to a challenge by **Ultra Drama Queen**, to write something with the pairing Kai x Ann. Personally, I've never really thought about Kai x Ann, but it seemed interesting so I thought I'd give it a go. It's very short, but I hope everyone enjoys it all the same.

* * *

Closing Time

After seasons of waiting impatiently, Ann's eighteenth birthday had finally arrived. But, unfortunately for her, events transpired to turn it into one big disappointment.

It was Cliff mainly. He'd just _had_ to go help poor little Claire clear the debris from her storm ruined farm. Huh - what an excuse! _Not_ that Ann minded of course. _Not _that she liked him or anything.

And he was _certainly_ not the reason she was stomping torwards the beach looking stony-faced the afternoon of that particular birthday. Oh no, of course not. As if a boy could ever affect her that badly.

It was laughable really.

She climbed down the steps onto the sweltering sands, brushing her braid aside and wiping the sweat from her forehead. Just as she turned towards the Snack Shack, determined to get within an inch of food she didn't have to serve, Ann noticed Kai backing out, locking the door behind him. It was closing time.

_"No!"_

The fiery red-head charged across the beach as her anger with men - or Cliff to be precise - bubbled over.

"Er - what?" Kai faltered, as anyone would do if they saw a furious woman storming up to them for no apparent reason. Especially considering that the woman was Ann. And even more so when she had a look that could kill on her face.

Ann frowned at him. "Why are you closing up, Kai?" she demanded. "Why now? I wanted food!"

Kai just laughed in reply. "You live at an Inn," he pointed out as though she was unaware of this fact.

With a violent wave of her hand Ann brushed the comment aside, "I know," she said, trying to remain as calm as possible. "I just...wanted a snowcone that's all."

Kai paused for a moment, his hand still clasped on the door handle. "Can't you make your own?" The second he'd said it, he realised it was completely the wrong thing to say; the look on Ann's face told him that clearly enough.

In a fit of anger and frustration she swung her foot through the sand, finishing up giving the wall of the Snack Shack a good kick. As her foot made contact, flakes of white paint flew everywhere.

Kai watched as they fell, but only raised his eyebrows. "You okay?" he asked her quietly, though the answer was pretty obvious.

"Yes. No. Maybe." Ann shrugged. "It's my birthday," she blurted out eventually.

"Ah, always a problem," Kai laughed. Then, however, realisation seemed to dawn on him and he stopped abruptly. "Shouldn't you be with Cliff, then?"

As soon as he was mentioned, Ann flared up. "No! Why would I be with him? It's not like we're a couple or anything!" She suddenly let out an angry snort - or perhaps a sigh, it was very hard to tell. "Anyway, he's with Claire."

"Ah," said Kai again. Then, after a brief pause, he turned and started fiddling with the door. Ann couldn't see what he was doing, but decided it didn't really matter anyway. She decided she may as well just go home instead.

"Well, bye then," she called, turning away. "And - er - sorry about your wall."

"Hey - no! - wait a minute."

And so once again Ann spun around, fully prepared to fire the worst swearwords she knew at Kai for wasting her time. What she wasn't prepared for, however, was seeing him stood by an open door, gesturing inside and saying in a highly comical voice, "Care for a snowcone, madam?"

"You what?"

"I said - Do you fancy a snowcone?" Kai repeated, before sinking into a low bow like some incredibly posh waiter.

Despite her awful mood, Ann couldn't help bursting into a fit of giggles at the sight of him. "You're an idiot, y'know that?" she laughed. "But yeah, I'll have a snowcone thanks - er, sir!" She burst out in hysterics again as she followed Kai inside.

Sitting down at one of the recently washed, pristine tables and calming down slightly, Ann started to feel slightly sorry for Kai. While his restaurant was undoubtedly lovely, it also had a distinctly unused feel about it. Of course, it must have been years old by now, but still felt as though it was brand new. There was no wear and tear from a constant stream of customers, no - nothing really. It was just like an empty shell.

But as soon as Kai sat down and put a freshly made snowcone in front of her Ann was at a loss as to why. The food was wonderful here, there was no doubt about that.

"This is great," she told him happily, through a mouth full of strawberry ice. She closed her eyes and sighed as it slid refreshingly down the back of her throat, only to open them again and see Kai looking at her oddly.

"What's wrong?" she asked worriedly, starting to feel oddly self-concious.

"Nothing!" Kai assured her, now frowning slightly. He tilted his head to one side though and continued staring.

"Kai!"

"Sorry, sorry! I was just thinking you'd look nice with your hair down, that's all."

Ann froze for a second, wondering what on earth he was on about. She quickly spooned some more ice cream into her mouth to distract herself and then, grinning, poked her tongue out at him. "Well, I like my hair just as it is," she explained playfully.

"And I could just lick that up," he retorted, glancing at the ice on her tongue and winking cheekily.

Ann felt her cheeks burn and quickly swallowed it. "Well, you ain't gonna!" she informed him indistinctly.

They both burst out laughing at that and spent the rest of the afternoon doing just the same. "You know," Kai said, as Ann was leaving. "I think you're right Ann, I think you're great just the way you are."

"Me too," she replied, turning away before he could see her blushing.

"You coming back tomorrow?" he called after her.

Ann grinned. "Why not?" she yelled over her shoulder. Then, she remembered something. "You're not open tomorrow, though..."

Kai smiled too. "I know."


End file.
